The Meridian Gamble (49 page)

Another trailer comes on, one that
advertises a science fiction film. And though it’s something I want to see, I
can’t enjoy the preview, because … it begins. Not the picture, but rather, the
invasion of my psyche. The static energy tickles at the corner of my brain, and
I begin to hear the psychic chatter of the vampires in my mind. Every once in a
while, I can pick up on a piece of their conversation, when they are being
especially loud, or one or two of them are arguing. And one phrase in
particular stands out.

“… Adam’s new whore …”

I recognize the voice as Roland’s,
which feels strange, that he would refer to me that way. And I bristle with
anger.

“I hate it when people talk during
the film,” I hiss to Adam.

Even though the trailer is still
running, it somehow seems to get more quiet in the room, like when a teacher
raps his or her ruler against the desk. And the chatter in my brain ceases.
Behind me, I hear Roland chuckle.

The movie starts, and I try to
focus on what’s happening on the screen. In it, Queen Latifah plays a harried
secretary who works for a megalomaniacal Cameron at a TV network, and through
some ridiculous plot twist, they switch bodies and lives, romantic interests.
And it’s funny enough, to see each actress “play” the other, to see Queen
Latifah pretend to be a skinny blonde trapped in her more voluptuous figure,
and to see Cameron act like she’s a ballsy African-American woman. But after
about 20 minutes or so of their antics, the attack on my mind renews with a
greater intensity. I feel the familiar psychic energy forming the sensation of
fingers embedding themselves into the back of my skull. It’s Roland, of course,
and I try to push him out, but he’s just too insistent, even though he can’t
get in. And the energy grows to the point where I’m gritting my teeth, and I
want to scream.

I sigh in frustration, and lean
over to Adam.

“Will you excuse me?”

And without waiting for him to try
to stop me, I step past his legs and walk up the aisle. And I don’t even look
at Roland.

But I do catch sight of Lina and
Angel, still making out in the back row on their side of the theatre.

I have to escape it all, if only
for a few moments, and I cross the lobby and go to one of the restroom doors at
the side of the concession stand, the one with the cartoon symbol of a woman.
When I step inside, I can’t help but to be amused once more. It’s exactly like
a movie theatre bathroom, with a long row of sinks, and hand dryers on either
side of the mirror. There’s a row of bathroom stalls which feel just a bit more
sturdy than what you would normally find, and I lock myself inside one,
enjoying a moment of peace. I’m grateful that Roland has stopped mentally
antagonizing me.

I didn’t think it would happen so
quickly, that I would see him so soon, though I should have known. And I wonder
what happened to him, after my betrayal in England, of running to the Luminos.
I wonder if he hated me for that. And I wonder if he even realizes that I asked
Adam to consume me. What will he think, to find us together? Will he wonder why
I didn’t go to him first? Or will he have dismissed me by now?

Does he even know that I’m Saga, or
is it in my best interest to try to fool him, so he won’t try to come after me?
Will he take vengeance on me if he thinks I’m not her, to make Adam suffer the
same pain of losing someone he loves?

But maybe I’m kidding myself, maybe
it’s all a coincidence, and he’s moved on.

After sitting in the stall for a
bit, staring at the door, I force myself to pee, even though my need isn’t that
great. And when I’m done, the toilet flushes automatically as I stand and
button up my jeans, just as it does in a real theatre. And I laugh once more.

I get up to wash my hands at the
sink, not even wanting to go back inside. I press the button on one of the hand
dryers, the kind that I hate. They’re useless, and never seem to dry anything.
It’s the one convention of the movie theaters I wish they would have skipped,
because paper towels are so much better.

But suddenly, something seems
wrong. I can feel it. I look to my side and gasp, jumping back against the
counter.

Because Roland is standing in the
bathroom with me. Which shouldn’t have surprised me at all.

“Should you be in here?” I say.

“Why not? It’s just a room. It
doesn’t matter what the little sign on the door says. And besides, I’ve been in
here plenty of times before,” he says, with a smile.

I wonder where Adam is, why he
doesn’t rush in to protect me. He isn’t stupid, he must have heard Roland get
up from his seat. He was right behind us. And I realize that if Roland is in
here, it’s only because Adam has allowed it. He must want me to pass this test
on my own, to let whatever it is between us work itself out just a bit.

I look at Roland, and can’t help
but to be struck by his beauty, just as Saga and Caroline were. He towers over
me, as he has in all of my past lives. Roland’s hair is longer, as it was in
Pharaoh’s time, but now it’s cut straight so it falls below his ears. And his
clothes are modern, black slacks and a grey V-neck sweater that’s made of
something soft, maybe cashmere. It’s appealing to see a big man dressed so
smartly, to see the chest I loved curling up against hugged by the tight
material.

I used to feel so safe with Roland,
but now, I sense danger. And I’m reminded of the kind Saga once faced when she
walked into Pharaoh’s chamber. Once again I have to dance with a monster who
could kill me on a whim.

“You’re Roland?” I say.

“Yes. And you are?”

“Meridian. I’m Adam’s new whore.”

From inside the theatre, I can hear
a ripple of laughter, even with my human ears. And I wonder if it’s from the
dialogue Cameron brays on the screen, or something else.

“I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to
hear that,” he says.

“Funny how things happen, even when
they’re not supposed to.”

His eyes narrow, and he smiles a
charming little grin.

“In any case, it’s very nice to
meet you, Meridian,” he says. And he makes the gesture of extending his hand.

I shake it quickly, and pull mine
away. Roland will think it’s because I’m scared, which I am, just a bit. But
I’m more afraid of sensing it, the electrical spark that will happen between us
when I touch him, the feelings it will ignite.

And it annoys me that he wants to
play games with me, after all this time. I know I’m supposed to act the role of
the innocent who’s never met him before, even though it’s hard to do. But it’s
not going to stop me from getting right to the point.

I turn away from him, and flip the
faucet on the sink so the water will run. I press the button on the hand dryer,
which makes its noisy fans whir. And I face Roland once more. I whisper, so low
that I can barely hear my voice, so low that only he’ll be able to detect my
words. Or, at least, I hope only he can hear them.

“Will this make it easier for you?”
I say. “To do whatever it is you’re going to do to me?”

And the dryer runs out, the sound
stops.

“What is it that you think I’m
going to do?” he asks, softly.

“Hurt me. Rush at me and snap my
neck.”

“If I was going to hurt you, I
wouldn’t do it here. There are too many vampires around. Who knows, one or two
of them might be able to stop me.”

“But you will hurt me, won’t you?
If you find out I’m not her, this woman you’re both hung up on?”

“Oh, I know you’re not her,” he
says, casually. “If you were, you would have come to me first, and not Adam.
Our’s is the much stronger bond. The only question now is, whether or not he
truly cares for you.”

Roland reaches over me, and presses
the hand dryer again. And it fills the room with noise once more, as he leans
in close, almost pressing his face into my cheek. I can feel the heat coming
from his body, the warmth of his breath tickles my ear.

“If he does love you, I’m going to
drink you dry, and carry you with me forever,” Roland whispers. “But only if he
truly loves you. I can’t have any old cow rambling about in my mind.”

And I shake my head, disappointed
with his cruelty. The Roland I knew was so much more, and it’s sad to see this
petty, vindictive side. Even worse, it wounds me to know I helped bring it out
in him.

“Can I say it for her? The words
she never had the chance to say?”

He pulls away, and stares at me
quizzically.

“And what would that be?”

“I’m sorry. She would have wanted
you to know.”

“And what makes you think you have
the right to speak for Saga?” he says, acting taken aback.

“Because we have something in common.
I love Adam. And if she felt that way, if she was torn between the two of you,
I know she must have cared for you deeply. She wouldn’t want to see you like
this. But more importantly, I’m sorry for my part in the drama, for whatever
feelings I’m forcing to resurface.”

His icy blue eyes narrow as they
burrow into me, analyzing me.

“Interesting. Very interesting,
indeed. I can see the appeal now. The sweetness. The impenetrable mind. The
intriguing curves. I didn’t realize how similar my tastes are to Adam’s.”

“Lucky thing, I guess. If I’m going
to be rambling about in your mind.”

There’s a noise at the door.
Suddenly, Adam’s here, standing near us. It happens so fast, I barely see him
enter the room. Roland smiles, not even bothering to look his way.

“Are you quite finished?” Adam
says.

“Not quite. But perhaps it would be
better if I leave. I do so want to see the rest of the film. And Marion would
be cross with us, if we tussled in here and destroyed her precious theatre.”

“Then I won’t have to show you the
door,” Adam says.

Roland smiles and nods his head at
me, as a way of saying goodbye. And he leaves the ladies’ room.

I turn to Adam, and there’s not
much we can say. It’s not safe to discuss what happened with the prying ears of
the vampires so close, so I don’t even bother to try.

“Can we leave? I’m so not
interested in the movie anymore.”

“Of course,” he says.

And he takes
my hand, and leads me away.

Adam takes me through the labyrinth
of corridors, down some stairs and to the floor where his room is. I think. I
recognize the stark white halls, and I’m fairly certain we pass the elevator
that leads to the vats in the cellar. It’s hard to tell, though. Everything is
so seamless within the odd architecture of the tower.

“Can they hear us? From this far away?”
I ask.

“It’s a bit of a stretch, but we
shouldn’t risk it. It’s best to talk in my quarters, where I’ve installed
security measures. You never know who’s lurking around. And some of them are
better than others at concealing themselves, masking their thoughts. You never
know who’s behind a closed door.”

And I look around the halls,
wondering how many listening devices and cameras are concealed in ways I can’t
even see.

We reach the dining room filled
with books, and the paneled corridor that’s lined with portraits of Marion, the
one that houses his room. We get to the door of Adam’s place, and when we’re
inside, he locks it and I feel a bit more safe.

“Roland wants to kill me,” I say.

“He’s not going to kill you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“He’s not going to kill you. If I
thought he was going to kill you, it would be his death sentence. I would rip
his heart out.”

“But isn’t he … stronger, somehow?
Because he’s older? I thought that’s how it works.”

“He is stronger. And faster. And
more of everything. He’s much older than I am. But he can still be killed. If I
thought he was going to harm you, I’d put an end to him. Trust me, I’d find a
way to make it happen,” he says. “But Roland’s not a threat to us. Not in that
way.”

Adam stares off, preoccupied. And
his nervousness makes me worried, in turn.

“And he knows?” I say, tentatively.
“He knows there’s something between us? That I had feelings for you all along,
in Saga and Caroline’s lives?”

“He’s figured it out by now. At
first I’m sure he thought I had consumed you out of spite, some twisted sense
of Luminos revenge. But I’m sure Marion explained it to him eventually, why you
asked her to change me, that we had a connection. Or maybe he thinks I fell in
love with you after the bite. He knows I’ve been looking for you ever since we
met last.”

“You said that Roland isn’t a
threat. But he’s not going to stop until he finds out the truth about me, will
he? He won’t rest until he knows whether or not I’m her … or them, Saga and
Caroline.”

“No, he won’t. But we’ll need to
tell him soon enough. Unfortunately, Roland is an ally, of sorts. We may need
him to help keep you alive.”

“Keep me alive? Is that what it’s
going to come to?”

“You are Luminos. If Marion finds
out for certain, she will have no choice but to deal with you.”

“But, she was my friend, once.
Would she really do that?”

“Of course, she would. It’s vampire
law. You’re the enemy. And we don’t have the blood to protect you. Marion is
our leader. It would be a sign of weakness if she showed you mercy, if she even
wanted to. But there’s something else.”

“Oh, God. Why does there always
have to be a ‘something else?’”

And I back up and lean against the
edge of the couch to steady myself, unsure if I’ll be able to handle the next
bombshell he’s about to drop.

“Lina has chosen to transform
Angel. Which means Marion is the next in line to choose. And after that,
Roland.”

“But, that doesn’t matter. Marion
isn’t going to transform Bernard. It will never happen.”

“It might. She cares for him. And
now that she has a chance to save him, she might take it. And she would have to
do it quickly, before he gets any older.”